Friday, March 11, 2011

CRUFTS DAY TWO

CH/IR CH Winuwuk Lust At First Sigh

Once again we treated our selves to the live on line streaming of group judging at Crufts, the giant British Kennel Club extravaganza. Today’s offerings were the Working Group and the Pastoral Group (comparable to our Herding Group).

Three things caught our eye as the Working Group breed winners entered the big ring. First, for a country steeped in tradition, exhibitors really get casual in their dress at Crufts. At Westminster, handlers agonize over what they will wear in the Group judging. Apparently, the British do not. More on subject, is the culture shock of seeing floppy ears on the Boxer & the Doberman and the tail on the Bobtail (Old English), but we will leave that debate for another time. We also were impressed that several of the dogs in the Working Group were substantially more substantial than what we see in the US. We’re not saying American dogs are reedy. We’re just saying that the English dogs were, well, beefy.

Mrs K Wilberg’s Group winner was the Boxer, CH/IR CH Winuwuk Lust At First Sight. Her Reserve was the beautiful Newfoundland, CH/IR CH Fairweathers Knock Out with Brooklynbear. Third was the Doberman Pinscher, CH Supera’s Ozzy Osbourne JW, and Fourth went to the Rottweiler, CH Olearia Blaze Of Gold. The Boxer, Max, is the winningest Boxer In the Kennel Club’s history and a repeat Crufts Working Group winner, having topped that Group in 2009. Congratulations to breeders/owners Marion Ward-Davies, Julie Brown & Tim Hutchings.

CH Elmo Vom Hunhnegrab

Mr E Hulme’s Best of the Pastoral Group was the German Shepherd Dog, CH Elmo Vom Hunhnegrab. His Reserve, Third, & Fourth were the Samoyed, CIB/EST/FIN/LT/LV/RUS CH Pilgrimage Snow Ball (yes, we know. It’s their Kennel Club and they can do it any way they like), the Australian Shepherd, CH/DK/NO/VDH/INT CH Thornapple Aftershock, & the Norwegian Buhund, NUCH LUXCH NORDV-10 BEW-10 Kimura’s Jenseman. Four year old Rico has been doing his share of winning since arriving in England from Germany, winning three BIS in ten shows entered. Congratulations to breeder Heinz Scheerer, owner Mr J Cullen, and handler Stephen Cox.

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comments:

Billy be mindful the UK Judge typically judges the dog and not the other end of the lead so what the handlers wear is unimportant as the judgef focus is on the dogs Incidentally I saw a number of outfits worn by female handlers/owners at this years Westminister that bordered on the bizarre.

I appreciate we have lots of exhibitors, both male & female, that make poor choices in the wardrobe. Anyone who has seen the "What Not To Wear To A Dog Show" on Facebook knows what I'm talking about. Nonetheless, I still like the good manners of a jacket for men & comparable outfit for women at our shows. It just separates the dog fancy from mixed martial arts competitions.

"Floppy" ears? Do you mean "natural?" I have no problem with docking tails of newborn pups. It's no more cruel than routine infant circumcision of infant humans. Chopping off the outsides of older puppies' ears? Hmm, that's different. AnonymousPS No, I am not an "animal rights" fool.

From what I have observed, in terriers, is that judges in the UK, judge 'handlers' to some extent and 'dogs' to some extent - just as what happens in North America. Not all is rosy on the other side of the pond -- both are very similar this way -- not all judges, not all shows, but some, just like NA.

If you start criticizing cropping and docking YOU ARE dangerously close to being an animal rights activist. Not sure about a fool. Animal rights activists don't want you to remove dewclaws either, nor do they want you OWNING a dog. So if you support dog shows, you'd be better off not criticize what's done in the US, or YOU ARE an aid in us losing what we have. We use the same pain medications for an ear crop as we use for spays, neuters, fracture repairs etc. None of which the dog ASKED for. So who's to decide what should be done. Don't take the rights out of the owners and veterinarians. It's a fine line between banning ear crops and the rights of animal ownership in the eyes of animal rights activist. All they need to do is get one foot in the door. Your remark nudges the door for AR activists. Choose your comments wisely. You never know who is an animal rights activist around.

"Slippery slope" arguments bother me. It would appear that the "dog world" is to be kept preserved in amber, lest any little change be the "weakness" that leads us all the way down to an AR hell in which dogs have the right to vote and sue.

Let's not forget that Western society has come a very long way in its attitudes towards animals. Remember bull-baiting? This was once seen as "good sport", but is now looked down on by "civilized" dog folk. Likewise the practice of quietly drowning/starving/euthanizing mismarked but perfectly-healthy puppies at birth - I'm sure this still goes on, but I think the average modern American show-breeder would be horrified at the thought.

The majority of our show dogs no longer live in huge kennels manned by paid kennel-help. Owners brag that their champion show dogs enjoy being cuddled on the couch from Monday through Friday - and handlers emphasize a dog's need to "be a dog".

Would anyone argue with these changes? The fact is that our relationship with dogs has evolved and changed over time. The West has become, in many ways, a more compassionate society. Why should we choose this particular moment in our societal evolution to say, "That's it, any more change and we're doomed" - or worse, to bandy about the accusation that concerned breeders/exhibitors are, in fact, closet animal rights activists?

I grew up "in dogs". There are things that I love about the fancy, and things that I think we could do better. But time and again, when I see even the tiniest criticism raised, it's batted down with accusations that the critic is "dangerously close" to an animal rights position (or worse, that they've suddenly become AR sympathizers).

I think that the impulse to "save the fancy" is absolutely understandable. We're in this because we love it. But the impulse to keep everything absolutely the same, and never budge an inch, and to never, ever question "the way things are", could well be the fancy's own undoing.

whew, that might be a bit of a long comment at the bottom of a less-than-brand-new post! But I think it's important for us to think about. The fancy has a future, and it's up to us to figure out what that future ought to look like.

NUMBER EIGHT

NUMBER NINE

NUMBER TEN

SHOW INFO

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The author has been attending dog shows as a spectator and exhibitor for over 45 years. He is a retired management consultant who has advised multiple organizations affiliated with the AKC and the Cat Fanciers Association on business management, long range planning, customer service, and legislative matters. After 25 years of living in the big cities of New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, he now resides in his hometown of Memphis, TN.

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